Valentine Interested in Mets Stake: Reports

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It's been nine years since Bobby Valentine last managed the New York Mets. In the time since, he served as manager for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan and, in 2009, became a baseball analyst for ESPN.

Now according to reports, Valentine is interested in returning to New York to buy a partial stake in the Mets.

"I've talked to a number of people interested in purchasing part of the New York Mets, but I'm not formally with any group that is actively pursuing this venture," Valentine told ESPN Sunday night.

In managerial stints with the Texas Rangers and the Mets spanning parts of 15 seasons, Valentine compiled a 581-605 record. He was also the last manager to take the Mets to the World Series, where they lost to the Yankees in 2000.

Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon and some family members are facing a $300 million lawsuit related to the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme. Up to $1 billion could be pursued, sources have said.

On Friday the team said in a statement that it expected a "short-term liquidity" problem of some $25 million.

And last month the Mets announced that they were looking to sell a non-controlling interest in the team of up to 20-25 percent to raise several hundred million dollars, although the Wilpons have denied that this is related to the lawsuit.